


A Good Song Never Dies

by Marquise (Marquise_Du_Sang)



Category: Borderlands (Video Games)
Genre: Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Angst, Canon Compliant, Flashbacks, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Abuse, M/M, Past Relationship(s)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-16
Updated: 2020-08-16
Packaged: 2021-03-05 21:15:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,295
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25941964
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Marquise_Du_Sang/pseuds/Marquise
Summary: Like a lover who won't back downThey'll pull you over to the sideLook you straight into the eyesNo, a good song never
Relationships: Handsome Jack/Timothy Lawrence
Kudos: 8





	A Good Song Never Dies

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this for the Jackothyzine in 2019-2020! We were limited 1,000-1,300 words which is why this is 1,300 words on the nose... haaah.
> 
> It was very challenging for me to write within a word limit but it was very fun, and it taught me the importance of word usage. And how more words doesn't always mean better.
> 
> I was considering editing this to expand on certain aspects of it but I decided it's good as it is. 
> 
> This was inspired by "A Good Song Never Dies" by Saint Motel.
> 
> I hope you enjoy it!

Timothy bursts into one of the VIP rooms as pandemonium breaks out in the casino, lockdown taking full effect. His heart quakes in his chest as the doppelganger pressed flush to the wall, clasping his hand over it as if he could still its movement. The regular casino music blared loudly overhead, but all of it was a rhythmic muffle to Timothy’s brain. His joints creak as he forces himself to step forward, collapsing to the floor on his hands and knees, his ECHO skittering across the floor. The tears threaten to swallow him as memories come flooding in, unbidden...

► Timothy returned to his home on Helios after a long day of kissing babies and autographing foreheads with someone else’s name. The penthouse had nothing distinguishing, just default furniture. Though it was a bit different today, the form of Jack on the couch flipping through channels on the holoscreen. The sight made Tim’s heart skip from fear.

“Oohh, hey kiddo! My favorite pal.” He tosses the remote carelessly as he sits up to greet Tim, a grin plastered on his face. Jack was not the kind for personal house calls. What was this about? “Guess who’s a free man? This guy.”

Timothy takes another moment to assess Jack, from his missing jacket, to the now noticeable smell of alcohol permeating from him. Not to mention the swelling and split lip happening under his mask, the angry red of it hidden by the synthetic skin.

“Jack. You’re drunk.” Timothy stated the obvious; no mention of the assumed breakup with Nisha. This whole situation had him sweating: a volatile and unpredictable Jack, mixed with alcohol…

“And why did you think I came here, huh? Boring McBoring Pants. Your dry personality will sober me up pretty quick~!” An expression that was meant to evoke pity only made it seem Jack had a bladder issue. The doppelganger couldn’t help a short laugh, which he smothered fast in one hand. “Oh, huh, that’s amusing to you, princess?”

“No!” He squeaked, which only resulted in Jack’s own laugh. The CEO gets up to grab one of the double’s wrists and pull him down on the couch, Timothy stumbling over his lap. “Jack! Wh-what are you doing!” He panicked, flailing to sit up.

“Sh.” The single sound escapes Jack’s lips and Tim freezes as he realizes Jack was… holding him. His legs were tangled with Jack’s, the man’s face on his shoulder and his arms wrapped snug around him. “Shut up for like… five minutes.”

Timothy followed instructions, not wanting Jack’s ire, glancing down at him. Jack looked downright miserable, and he wasn’t sure if anyone had ever seen Jack like this but him. Had Jack come to him for comfort at his lowest point, despite the jabs at being the dryest person he knows?

It didn’t take five minutes for Jack to fall asleep. And Tim, not wanting to disturb him, stayed, thoughts and feelings about the situation swirling in his head before he, too, fell asleep.

► Their relationship took a strange turn from then on. Jack visited him daily, and seemed keen on physically clinging to Timothy whenever possible. He should stop this, but then Jack would do something uncharacteristically charming. An example…

Jack, like a touch-starved child, had his arms wrapped around Tim, face pressed to the other’s shoulder. He was about to shove the CEO off of him, frowning all the while, when Jack said, “Timothy.”

His heart jumped out of his throat. “Y… yes sir?” This was the first time Timothy had heard his own name out of someone else’s mouth in years. Jack had kept to “other me” most the time.

“Heh. Nothing.” Jack snickered softly, clasping his hand into Tim’s. His heart fluttered. How could this man be completely infuriating one moment and then disarming in the space of a moment?

It was so strange to see a soft side of Jack. Tim never saw it other than when they were alone. In public, Jack would be as he normally was -- cocky, overbearing, a murdering maniac… Then this awful murdering beast would arrive at Tim’s apartment at the end of the day to curl up and cuddle with him.

This all came to a head when Jack surprised Tim once again by pulling him close into the embrace of his arms, faces mere inches apart. “Timothy… I’ve been meaning to tell you somethin’.”

The double swallowed nervously, a drop of sweat rolling down his brow. Was it getting warmer? His tongue darts out to wet his lips, though it was dangerously close to tasting Jack’s lips. Jack’s eyes flicker to the movement, a smirk and a laugh escaping him.

“Well… I’ll show you instead...” Jack closed the distance, the warmth of their lips turning passionately and simmeringly hot. Tim made a noise of surprise, quickly melting into a soft, needy whimper. When Jack pulls away, Tim chases his lips and it only makes Jack chuckle.

“Let's bring this relationship to the next level, huh?”

► The next level was bringing it public. Everyone on Helios knew Jack was dating his doppelganger now. The publicity was overwhelming for Timothy, as now there were more people who recognized him - not Jack, but him! Jack had pointed out that the surgery had faded and revealed freckles across his face, causing Tim to break into tears.

But with this came other life decisions too. Moving in with him. Staying at his side. And Timothy had seen a lot of things he didn’t like.

“Jack… about Pandora…”

“What about it?” Jack asked, his fingers pausing at his keyboard.

“I think we need to stop. You know how the Vault on Elpis went. I… I don’t want to repeat that… and these vault hunters…”

Jack stands up abruptly and faces him, a maddening look in his eye. “The hell are you saying? I can’t plug a bullet in a few measly vault hunters?”

“But you’ve sent all your best fighters…! Nisha… Wilhelm… both of them are--!”

“Don’t worry about it. I’m sending you to the casino.” Jack interrupted sharply, returning to his desk. The quick dismissal left Tim flabbergasted.

“The casino?! Right now? Why the hell are you pushing me away--”

“Timothy!” Before he knew it, he was pressed to the glass, a hand to his throat. Jack had never raised a hand to him like this before, and he was afraid of the look in Jack’s eyes. Unbalanced. “I’m your goddamn boss. I _own_ your ass, so you’d better do what I tell you to. Capiché? This little relationship? I was just lonely. I never cared about your damn feelings. So go to the casino like a good little boy.”

When Jack let go, Timothy could only wish that the window behind him would open up and the cold of space would swallow him whole.

► “You motherfucker!” Timothy shouted at the floor of the casino, slamming his fist into the floor, not even flinching when his knuckles started to bleed. “I hate you, Jack! You miserable piece of shit!” He sobbed out loud, screaming.

His ECHO flickered, and his eyes darted to its screen - a part of him hoped it would be Jack telling him it was all a lie.

“This is a pre-recording.” Chimed a voice, and then Jack’s voice filled the room. There was a heavy sigh at the beginning. “I don’t know how to explain this. I’m bad at feelings…” Another sigh. “I’m scared outta my wits. My hands are freakin’ shaking, kiddo, at the thought of those _bandits_ … hurting you. You were so freakin’ insistent...” A long pause. “The casino’s yours, now, Tim. No use to a dead man, huh? … love ya.”

The song that had been muffled before now rings clear.

_A good song never dies..._


End file.
